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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26523904">Should I Wear A Party Hat Or A Bandaid?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BoysWillBePups/pseuds/BoysWillBePups'>BoysWillBePups</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Teen Wolf (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Pack Bonding, Pack Dynamics, Theo Raeken Has Feelings, Theo Raeken Needs a Hug, but he doesn't know how to handle them</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 04:47:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,464</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26523904</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BoysWillBePups/pseuds/BoysWillBePups</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>For Theo, vulnerability and feelings lead to a fight-or-flight response, and after Liam makes a love confession, he chooses flight. </p><p>Have party hats ever fixed emotional trauma? Liam's asking for a friend.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken, background mason/corey - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>85</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Should I Wear A Party Hat Or A Bandaid?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Considering they live in the same house, it really is a miracle how easy it is for Theo to avoid Liam.</p><p>Summer break had been going for a week, so there was no school to drive to or practice to be picked up from. Theo had managed to make himself sparse, taking on more shifts and going out for more runs. </p><p>Liam knew that he should probably feel pretty devastated, but he was sad for Theo above all else. Liam had confessed his love to the older boy, under the moonlight by a pond in the preserve, while looking into his glittering green eyes. Liam knew that Theo reciprocated his feelings, <i>he knew</i>, he heard the boy repeat the words back to him although it was barely a whisper. Within moments, Theo was gone, literally running in the other direction. </p><p>Since then, the two of them hadn’t spoken. Not even a single word.</p><p>Liam knew that he should feel rejected, or even disappointed, but all he could feel was sad.</p><p>Theo never learned how to properly deal with feeling-y things, and the stench of self-hatred followed him like a cloud of smog since coming back from hell. It wasn’t rare to catch Derek, or even Malia, holding their noses around the 17-year-old. Theo didn’t know what to do, so he did the only thing he knew: he ran. And he had been running from Liam ever since.</p><p>Liam was missing Theo with everything in him. </p><p>He had always noticed the uncomfortable shifts in energy and the fidgeting that would arise when the topic of feelings would come up. People rarely ever asked Theo his feelings about things. When they did? My God could the boy deflect. Liam knew it all, but he had mistaken the lingering touches and the fact that they had been sharing a bed for weeks as readiness.</p><p>Liam thought that Theo was ready, and with every passing day he would beat himself up more and more realizing that he should have waited. </p><p>Liam woke up to the midday sun casting light across his face. He took a moment to think of the way Theo’s eyes would flutter open at the first sign of morning sun, always looking up at Liam with that lazy morning smile on his lips. Before he could even realize why, Liam was scrambling for his phone, dialing Corey’s number. </p><p>After the third ring, the phone was picked up.</p><p>“Hey, Liam,” Mason’s voice spoke softly through the phone. </p><p>“Hey, Mase. Where’s Corey?”</p><p>“He’s sleeping, we had a late night last night.”</p><p>Liam scrunched up his nose, making a gagging sound into the phone, “Dude! TMI!”</p><p>Mason chuckled, “we watched the entirety of Lord Of The Rings, including the Hobbit.”</p><p>“Uhh, that’s way more tame than I expected.” Liam paused for a moment, trying to remember the reason behind the call. “Do you know if Theo’s coming to the pack party? I figured Corey would probably know.”</p><p>“Uh, I’m not too sure honestly,” Mason paused for a moment, and Liam heard shuffling, “I can get him to call you when he wakes up.”</p><p>“It’s cool, I’ll just text Brett,” Liam sighed, just the thought of the born wolf making him tired all over again.</p><p>“Alright, see you at the party, dude.”</p><p>“See ya.”</p><p>Liam opened the messages app hastily, quickly scrolling in search of Brett’s contact. </p><p><b>To Bratt</b>: Is there any way u could convince T to come to the party 2nite?</p><p><b>From Bratt</b>: What’s in it for me?</p><p><b>To Bratt</b>: Seeing your best friend happy, douchebag</p><p><b>From Bratt</b>: Fine, consider him there</p><p><b>To Bratt</b>: Thank u!!!!</p><p>Liam smiled before getting up to shower, tossing his phone back on his bed.</p>
<p></p><div>
  <p>✿✿✿✿</p>
</div>Liam spent thirty minutes trashing his closet before he finally gave in and called Mason, asking him to come over before the party to help with his non-existent fashion sense.<p>“It’s just the pack, you know that, right? They all know that your outfits are usually just hoodies and gym shorts.”</p><p>“Yeah, but tonight’s important, I need to make sure that Theo’s okay. We haven’t spoken in like, an entire week, and according to Corey he looks like he hasn’t slept.” Liam paced the side of his room opposite to the closet, trying to stay out of Mason’s way while he worked his magic.</p><p>“Li, you know what Theo’s like. He lashes out when he feels vulnerable, he’s not used to trusting other people.” Mason was pushing clothes out of the closet and into the pile that Liam had started prior to his arrival. He groaned internally as he went through yet another pile of Nike t-shirts with nondescript inspirational quotes on them. </p><p>“I know, it’s just-” Liam groaned, falling back onto his bed. “I just want him to know, I want him to understand. I adore him. I adore him so much that I’ll use cheesy ass words like ‘adore’ when I’m talking about him. Somehow my brain is turning to mush and making poetry at the same time and it’s all his fault. It’s his stupid face and his stupid smile and it’s the fact that he smells like autumn. I didn’t even like autumn before him, how is this even possible? It’s like he’s making me into a new-”</p><p>Mason laughed, interrupting Liam’s rambling, before furrowing his brow and pulling a jacket from the closet.</p><p>“Why do you have this?” Mason seemed almost offended, tossing it to the bed.</p><p>Liam squinted his eyes as if there was something that he was missing, looking down at the black leather like he was looking for a flaw. He continued to inspect it before meeting Mason’s gaze, tilting his head slightly.</p><p> “You’re a jean jacket bi, not a leather jacket bi.”</p><p>Liam snorted, rolling his eyes and picking up the discarded item of clothing. “Sometimes I want to feel hot and badass too.”</p><p>Mason shook his head in response, “Sorry, but you’re more of a Sandy than a Danny, Li.”</p><p>He pulled a light jean jacket from the closet, throwing it on top of Liam, tossing a flowery Hawaiin shirt and a pair of navy blue shorts on top.</p><p>“Half tuck the shirt into your shorts and cuff the sleeves of the jacket. I’ll wait outside.”</p><p>“Whatever you say, Frenchie.”</p>
<p></p><div>
  <p>✿✿✿✿</p>
</div>Corey wolf-whistled loudly when Liam walked out, dramatically looking him up and down. Mason just smiled thoughtfully, no doubt admiring his work.<p>“Liam looks great, doesn’t he, Theo?” Mason turned to look at the boy in question, who had obviously been styled, reluctantly, by Corey.  </p><p>Theo looked up at Liam before looking back down to glare at the ground, scratching the back of his neck. He shrugged noncommittally, “sure.”</p><p>Liam is sure that the hostility would have hurt more if he hadn’t been so busy admiring Corey’s work. Theo was wearing a white, short-sleeved button-down, the first couple of buttons opened to reveal a flash of his chest. The shirt was tucked into a pair of tight black jeans that clung to Theo’s ass in a way that Liam could only describe as sinful. </p><p>For Liam, it was Theo’s hair that was the cherry on the cake. Liam knew from sharing a bathroom with the older boy that Theo often spent a long time on his hair, fussing with products and making sure that the hair that fell to curtain his face was always perfect. </p><p>Theo’s hair <i>always, always</i> drove Liam absolutely mad, the way that it would fall in front of his eyes always gave Liam the unstoppable urge to run his fingers through it. Tonight, however, Corey has kept Theo far away from any product. Theo’s hair still fell in his face in that ridiculously sexy curtain style that it always did, but instead of the usual straightness that the gel would bring, his hair fell in beautiful soft curls. </p><p>Liam stood there a moment, gaping at the chimera, wanting nothing more than to latch onto him and never let go; to leave soft kisses all over his face and hold him forever. Mason clearing his throat wasn’t enough for Liam to leave his stupor, and he ended up stumbling when Corey grabbed his arm, pulling him to the back door of Theo’s truck. </p><p>The drive was uncomfortable, but not nearly as bad as things had been when Theo first integrated into the group. Mason had taken the passenger seat, playing his personally-curated 80s playlist through the aux cord, and Liam smiled softly to himself when he noticed Theo bobbing along. <b><i>Theo would always be a sucker for Billy Idol.</i></b></p><p>After screaming along with Mason to <i>Careless Whisper</i> and <i>Video Killed The Radio Star</i>, Liam noticed that they were on Scott’s Street, about to pull up to the McCall residence. He ran a hand through his hair to make sure it was still slicked back, and fixed the tuck of his shirt as he got out, not missing the way that Theo’s eyes gazed from the rear-view mirror.</p>
<p></p><div>
  <p>✿✿✿✿</p>
</div>The night had actually turned out to be a lot of fun, way more fun than Liam could have expected. Spiked liquor was being passed around, and a medley of old songs and new ones were blasted through a portable speaker. Everyone was laughing, and surprisingly, everyone was getting along.<p>Even though he was having a blast, Liam couldn’t stop himself from stealing glances in Theo’s way every few minutes. Theo, as expected, had gravitated towards Brett, and Corey had followed along, wanting to join in on the fun. The three of them were playing some weird game that born-wolves played according to Brett, a game that Liam could only assume was something akin to Nervous. He couldn’t pick up anything they were saying over the music, but he could hear the incremental rise and fall of Theo’s heart rate as Brett would point a victorious finger in the chimera’s direction.</p><p>“Hey guys, can we play a game?” Malia slurred, her body swaying as she tried to dance along to the music. <i>(Heightened senses do not equal heightened rhythm, apparently)</i></p><p>Liam quickly looked away when Theo caught him staring, turning to look in Malia’s direction. “What about never have I ever?”</p><p>Malia pumped her fist before making a cheers-ing motion in Liam’s direction. “Great idea, baby beta! C’mon guys.”</p><p>Everyone quickly flocked to the floor, sitting in a large circle around the living room. Liam allowed his eyes to wander to Theo momentarily, only to be surprised that he was sitting between Derek and Malia. </p><p>“Ooh, can I start?” Stiles shouted, bouncing in his spot. Stiles had pregamed, and he had been tipsy before the puppy pack even arrived. The White Claws that he downed like water throughout the night didn’t help his situation much either.</p><p>Scott just laughed at his best friend, nodding eagerly.</p><p>Stiles seemed to zone out for s second, and it seemed like he was staring straight past Theo’s head. From Theo’s uncomfortable squirming, it would be pretty safe to assume that the two of them were making eye contact. </p><p>“Never have I ever been so scared after watching Gremlins that I had to sleep with the light on for a month.” </p><p>Liam furrowed his brow, tilting his head to the side until he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Theo was giving Stiles a death glare, taking a sip from his cup, his middle finger on display. He avoided eye contact for a moment after his sip, grumbling a mumbled ‘I can’t believe you even remember that’ under his breath.</p><p>“What’s wrong, Theo? Still scared of the dark?” Stiles goaded. Liam felt the corner of his lips quirk up, thinking about the teddy bear shaped night light that Theo kept in his room.  </p><p>Next to Stiles was Lydia, and the ‘never have I evers’ just got even funnier and more personal as the game went on. </p><p>When it finally got to be Liam’s turn, he thought for a moment before making dead eye contact with Theo. He reveled in the way that it seemed to send a chill down his spine from across the circle.</p><p>“Never have I ever been afraid to express my feelings for someone despite the fact that I know they are reciprocated because I believe that I’ll just end up hurting them and because I believe that I wasn’t deserving of their love or forgiveness in the first place because of the way I was raised and the things that I’ve done.”</p><p>Liam is making very intense eye contact with Theo, who is only reciprocating the stare because it was a better option than having to look at the rest of the pack. There is a slurping sound to his left and Theo sees Derek start drinking, Stiles nodding along and humming in agreement.</p><p>“I don’t-“ Theo is quickly interrupted. Malia reaches over and wraps her hand around Theo’s, bringing the cup up to his mouth and tipping it, forcing the laced liquor down his throat.  </p><p>“Quit being a dumbass, dumbass.” Malia lectured, although it wasn’t so threatening with the slurs added to the words. </p><p>Theo shifts uncomfortably under everyone’s stares, and he clears his throat once he has swallowed down his drink. “I- uh- I’m going to the bathroom.”</p><p>He stands up and walks upstairs, not making eye contact with a single pack member before he is out of sight. The attention shifts to Liam, and he chugs the rest of his drink before getting up on wobbly legs and bolting after Theo. </p><p>Theo is sitting on the floor, his knees to his chest, just outside the bathroom when Liam gets upstairs. He’s running his hands through his hair, pulling lightly every few moments. </p><p>Liam slides down the wall to sit next to him, but Theo doesn’t dare to look. </p><p>“You can’t.” Theo whispers, hearing how quiet the pack had gotten downstairs, Taylor Swift’s greatest hits now on a volume much lower than before. </p><p>“I can’t what, Theo?” Liam knows that he’s a bit tipsy, but he doesn’t think he would be able to decipher Theo’s code even if he was at his most sober. </p><p>“You can’t love me. You shouldn’t. I am made of bad things. I am made of dirty tricks, and manipulation, and my dead sister’s heart. But you?” Theo finally turns his head, and Liam can see the glistening threat of tears on the horizon. “You are made of wonderful things, Liam. Sometimes I wonder if it’s even possible that you were born human and you weren’t some angel or divine being or something. You are made of loyalty, and determination, and innocence. And yeah, you get angry, but for as long as I’ve known you, you have always made sure that you never hurt anybody when things get hard. Now how could I ever be selfish enough to take you from someone who deserves you more? From someone that you deserve more?” </p><p>When Theo is finished, his hands are shaking, and he is desperately trying to get them to stop. Liam wants to reach out, his instincts are screaming for him to comfort Theo, but he doesn’t want to make things worse. </p><p>Instead of moving closer, Liam crawls so that he is sitting in front of Theo, demanding all of his attention. “Theo, you weren’t a good person.”</p><p>The older boy’s breath hitches in his throat, and this time Liam doesn’t fight the urge to reach out and hold his hands.</p><p>“You weren’t a good person in the past, I can’t lie to you and tell you that you were. What I can tell you is that it wasn’t your fault. You were raised to believe that what you were doing was necessary, alright? It took me a long time to realize that, and I know it took the pack even longer, but you were only little, okay? Our guardians are supposed to teach us about what’s wrong and right and they failed you.” Liam reaches out to grab Theo’s chin, forcing him to make eye contact. The first tear falls, and Liam is quick to wipe it away, his hands tender and soft.  “You were a bad person before. That doesn’t justify us sending you to hell, because we have all grown to realize how wrong that was, but you are different now.”</p><p>“So maybe you still know those dirty tricks, and maybe you still have your sister’s heart, but you’ve changed. Maybe you still have those shadowy corners, and those demons that keep you up at night, but now you have beautiful gardens, too.” Liam laughed mostly to himself before continuing. “I told Mason that you make my brain do weird things. I sound like Keats or something.”</p><p>This earns a wet smile from Theo, but tears are still flowing freely as he frantically tries to wipe them away. “I’d say Kerouac, I’ve always preferred him anyways.”</p><p>Liam rubs soft circles where his thumb is still on one of Theo’s arms. </p><p>“What I’m trying to say is that maybe you were once tornadoes, and storm clouds, and chaos, but now you have good in you. I believe that good will always be there, now, but I am in love with all of you. I am not just in love with the good, I am also in love with the bad.”</p><p>“How can you be in love with who I was?” Theo’s voice is small, cracking around the edges.</p><p>“I’m not, Theo. I’m not in love with the evil: I never was. I am in love with you on your bad days, I am in love with you on your bad nights, and I am in love with you no matter what demons you have to fight in order to forgive yourself, because we already have.” </p><p>“He’s right! You’re a cool guy now!” The pair can hear Malia shout from downstairs before she is shushed by five different people, the music turning back up the volume it was at earlier on in the night. Liam lets out a small laugh when he can hear how quickly Malia was distracted with singing along to Cruel Summer.</p><p>Liam, again, devotes his complete attention to Theo, wiping off the last tears as they fall. </p><p>Theo laughs breathlessly, gently shaking his head, “who knew this party would end up being therapy?” He ducks his head as he fiddles with Liam’s hand.</p><p>A few moments of silence pass before Theo looks up again. They get lost in each other's eyes before Theo can hear the uptick in Liam’s heartbeat.</p><p>“Never have I ever wanted to kiss someone so badly.” Liam admits, his baby blues wandering down to look at Theo’s lips.</p><p>Theo swallows before nodding ever-so-slightly. “Never have I ever wanted to stop you from kissing me.”</p><p>An ear-to-ear grin breaks out on Liam’s face before he is tangling his fingers in Theo’s hair, pulling them together softly until the moment their lips meet. It is somehow nothing like he imagined it to be and everything he imagined it to be all at the same time.</p><p>Liam can swear that he hears symphonies roaring to life in his ears, his thoughts clouding completely until all he can think of is Theo Theo Theo and the magical, poetic words that can be used to describe him.</p><p>He pulls back first, gasping for breath and giddy with joy. He feels so stupid happy that he doesn’t even try to stop the huge smile and the heart-eyes that he is certain he is making.</p><p>Theo’s cheeks colour under his gaze until finally his own face is breaking out into a smile. Liam takes this opportunity to act on his earlier urge, grabbing Theo’s face in his hands and peppering kisses all over. </p><p>Theo <i>honest-to-God</i> giggles, wrapping his hands around Liam’s waist as he allows the boy to continue. They stay there, breathing each other in while grinning like idiots for what feels like an eternity.</p><p>Neither of them are even paying attention to their friends calling their names, requesting their presences back at the party. After some clattering and the sound of speaker static, it’s obvious that Mason has received aux duties when <i>Eyes Without A Face</i> starts playing, like a personal serenade.</p><p>Theo’s eyes light up as soon as he recognizes the song, and he is quick to jump up to his feet, hauling Liam along with him. “Let’s go dance.”</p><p>Liam nods, mesmerized by the boy in front of him, and grabs him by his hair to pull him in for another kiss. When the two of them finally need to breathe, they rest their foreheads together, panting. </p><p>Finally, Liam smiles a smile that seems like he was just granted everything that he could ever ask for, and he grabs Theo’s hand. “Let’s dance.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hope you enjoyed reading! Feedback is always welcome :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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